New York, NY – Today, Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-Manhattan, Queens) spoke at a press conference and rally organized in Manhattan’s Turtle Bay neighborhood by Iran180, a coalition of organizations and advocates dedicated to reforming Iran’s current government, whose President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, will be speaking at the United Nations General Assembly tomorrow. (A photograph of Representative Maloney speaking at the event is attached.)

The following are Congresswoman Maloney’s remarks:

“Thanks to Iran180 for bring us together, once again, to denounce the presence of Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the United Nations.

“And just last week, Iran’s vice president and head of its nuclear program admitted in an interview given to Al-Hayat that Iran gave foreign officials misleading facts about the state of their nuclear progress.

“The U.N. was established as a forum for peace. Ahmadinejad has repeatedly set the stage for war:

Sponsoring terrorism around the world;

Abusing human rights;

Killing tens of thousands of his own people;

Propping up the corrupt Assad regime in Syria; and

Rushing to develop nuclear weapons.

“Ahmadinejad’s threats against Israel have been clear: he sponsored a ‘World Without Zionism’ conference in Tehran in 2005 at which he said, ‘anybody who recognizes Israel will burn in the fire of the Islamic nation’s fury.’ At a conference he sponsored to deny the Holocaust in 2006, he said Israel would `soon be wiped out’. And just last month on Jerusalem Day he threatened to eradicate all Jews from Palestinian land, saying, ‘Even if one cell of them is left in one inch of (Palestinian) land, in the future this story (of Israel’s existence) will repeat.’

“We have learned the lessons of World War II – when a tyrant threatens destruction, when he acquires the means to carry out his threats, when he dehumanizes his enemy, and when he repeatedly sends terrorists to kill innocent men, women and children, he is embarking on a path of genocide.

“We know that Israel will defend itself and that Jerusalem is and will always be the capital of Israel.

“Congress has repeatedly condemned and sanctioned Iran – and on June 20, 2007, the House of Representatives voted to call on the United Nations Security Council to charge Ahmadinejad

with violating the 1948 Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide and the United Nations Charter because of his calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.

“Ahmadinejad is the embodiment of all that the United Nations was intended to prevent: a sponsor of terrorism, a denier of the Holocaust, the leader of a regime that is determined to destabilize the region by building nuclear weapons, a tyrant who has murdered thousands of his own people and a madman who has threatened the existence of a U.N.-member nation, Israel.

“Not only has he called for the destruction of Israel, he is rapidly acquiring the means to do so.

“He has violated international law by calling for the destruction of Israel and he has violated human decency by continuing to build weapons of mass destruction.

“I hope the members of the U.N. will let Iran’s leader know that he is UNwelcome in a building built for peace.”

Congressman Eliot Engel (D-NY-17) released the following statement in response to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s appearance at the United Nations today. Rep. Engel is a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

“Iran is a pariah nation led by a leader who has called for Israel to be wiped off the map. There is no place for such a tyrant in New York City. The world must stand against this ugliness at every turn, whether it’s Iran’s nuclear weapons program, its backing of the murderous Syrian regime in Damascus, or its support for terrorism around the world.”

Today New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn proudly joins Iran180 to denounce the visit of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the UN General Assembly next week, and to denounce his regime’s cruel and repressive practices.

“President Ahmadinejad’s brand of hate speech is most unwelcome in New York
City for a host of reasons. Mr. Ahmadinejad has called for the destruction
of Israel and has expressed anti-Semitic views and doubts about the
Holocaust. Domestically, Iranian women often face discrimination and women’s
rights groups are repressed. Those critical of his government have been
perpetually arrested and detained without trial for long periods and are
reported to have been tortured or otherwise ill-treated and denied access to
medical care, lawyers and their families. Mr. Ahmadinejad’s government is
also a supporter of international terrorism in the world today, and for a
regime like this to be on the cusp of developing a nuclear arsenal is a
nightmare too terrible to contemplate. This threat of a nuclear-armed Iran
is not just an Israeli problem but a global problem which the world must
address immediately. For all these reasons, and many more not stated, Mr.
Ahmadinejad is very unwelcome in our city.”